Facing a tough business environment, Hindalco Industries, the flagship metal arm of the Aditya Birla Group, today reported standalone net profit declined 23 per cent to Rs 334 crore in the quarter ended December 31 on the back of a higher tax outgo.
Profit was Rs 434 crore in the same period a year earlier, the company said in a statement.
Revenue from operations increased 15 per cent to Rs 7,273 crore in the third quarter of this financial year from Rs 6,872 crore reported a year ago.
Operating profit of the leading aluminium and copper producer rose 8 per cent to Rs 629 crore as against Rs 582 crore in the same period a year ago.
"There has been sound operational performance. Improved operating efficiencies cushioned the adverse impact of higher input cost and lower realisation...However, net profit was down due to higher effective tax rate for the quarter," Hindalco Managing Director D Bhattacharya told reporters here.
"Business environment will continue to be tough with added uncertainty on coal block (which is under scrutiny)," he said.
The firm's bottom line will come under strain in the coming quarters on higher depreciation and interest, he said.
During the quarter, while tax outgo increased 23 per cent to Rs 135 crore, finance costs stood at Rs 165 crore in the October-December period.
Hindalco said all its project debt has been refinanced, which provides interest cost savings of Rs 340 crore annually.
"Our average interest rate has reduced by 1-1.5 per cent annually after the refinancing of project debt," Chief Financial Officer Praveen Maheshwari said.
By the end of third quarter, net debt was about Rs 14,000 crore, he added.
The aluminium business contributed Rs 2,471 crore in revenue in the third quarter, up from Rs 2,343 crore reported in the previous quarter.
